STAR FOX

BLOOD FEUD

CHAPTER I

HAIR

Two vulpines, a tod and a vixen, sat in a cafe in one of the few districts of Corneria City that hadn't been destroyed by the Aparoids during the invasion little more than seven months ago. The cafe was simple, elegant, and not overly expensive. Tables were arranged both inside and out, and tea was the order of the day as the two suns of Lylat and Solar began their leisurely descent below the horizon. The tod was sipping from a steaming cup of Earl Grey, and trying not to look to dainty, tea was something he enjoyed but had received no end of taunting about from a certain blue feathered avian. The tod in question would have been recognized by just about anyone in Lylat. About six feet tall, with orange and white fur, piercing emerald eyes, and penchant for wearing either sunglasses, a red scarf, or both. His name was Fox McCloud, a name that was already in the history books, much to his humble embarrassment. Fox McCloud, though he took pride in both his abilities and his accomplishments was not one who enjoyed having long conversations about them. Not to mention the fact that the glowing descriptions of how he had changed the fate of the entire Lylat system on more than one occasion made his ears burn. In all Fox was a humble and simple man determined to make a difference but determined not to become famous for it. He had done a spectacularly bad job of the latter.

The vixen sitting across from him, though not as famous for her deeds, was no less well known for her associations. A good pilot, a telepath, and for all anyone knew the only survivor of the planet Cerinia whose civilization had been reported attacked and destroyed several years ago, she stood out in a crowd thanks to her cerulean blue fur coat and ritual tattoos. Her name was Krystal, no more than that had she ever been willing to reveal. Krystal was smiling as she sipped from a cup of herbal tea, but it wasn't the tea that was making her smile, it was what, or rather who, she saw coming up from behind Fox.

"What?" Asked the tod.

"FOX MCCLOUD?!"
Fox started and likely would have sprayed his tea across the table if he had been drinking from it. Krystal couldn't help but laugh. She watched as Fox turned around to notice the small group of enthusiastic looking teenagers, each of them with a giddy smile and expression plastered on their faces. They acted as if they were meeting their favorite rock star, of course that was hardly suitable, no rock star had half the claim to fame and honor that Fox did.

"Can I help you people?" Asked Fox.

Krystal grinned at the uniform response, "Can I have your autograph?"
She noticed Fox's ears burn, though his tail wagged a bit, he may not like the attention but he did at least appreciate the fact that people really did idolize his deeds.

"Excuse me?"

Krystal turned around, someone asking for her? When Fox McCloud was two feet away? How interesting. Maybe she was about to get a bit of publicity. "Yes?"

Standing behind her was a tod with a very interesting fur pattern. He was primarily magenta colored, but there was evidence of several black streaks in his fur, it was like no pattern Krystal had ever seen before. "You are Krystal Zonoc are you not?"
Krystal eyes widened. Zonoc was not something that had been attached to her name for many years, and with good reason. She felt a flutter of anxiety. How could anyone in Lylat know her clan name? Her family name. She hadn't even told Fox, and she trusted him with anything. "How do you know that name?"
The tod smiled, he actually looked like he was trying to reassure her, though there was something about him that still made her a bit nervous. It was probably the fact that her telepathy seemed to reflect off of him, as if he was shielding his thoughts from her, and doing a very good job of it at that. "I was sent to deliver something to you." The tod produced a small phial and handed it to her.

Krystal took it and looked at what was inside of it, hair, blood red, a deeper shade of red than she had ever seen anyone with in Lylat. In fact she only knew one person with that color hair. "Who are you?" She asked, but when she looked up the magenta furred tod was gone.

Fox, who had finally disengaged himself from his teenage fans looked at her, "What's the matter?"

Krystal shrugged, "I don't know. Someone just came up to me and gave me this." She showed him the phial.

Fox's eyebrows quirked, "Odd gift for a fan to give. Must be an obsessive type, you know wants you to have a piece of them. Weird."

"Fox."

"Hmmm."

Krystal leaned forward, "I don't think he was just a 'fan', he...he knew my name."

Fox smiled, "I know your name. So does most of Lylat. Haven't you heard everyone on the team is a household name?"

Krystal shook her head, "I mean my last name. My family name."
"I thought you said you didn't have one."

Fox looked curious, his ears were cupped forward and Krystal for a moment realized how adorable he looked like that. Then the hair in the phial returned to her thoughts and she answered, "That's not entirely true. I never told you because...well it doesn't matter. All that matters is no one should know it."
Krystal could tell that Fox was now absolutely fascinated, she could sense waves of curiosity mixed with concern coming off of him. Apparently he could tell how shaken up by this she was. "Well, what do you want to do?"

Krystal sighed and gulped at her tea, it was hot but that didn't matter, she needed to know she could still feel something. She caught sight of Fox gawking at the fact that she had just drained half a cup of very hot tea, she simply said "Ow."

Fox laughed, "I should say so. Do you know who's hair that is?"

Krystal regarded it, it couldn't be who she thought it was. She was the only one left, no one else had survived the attack. That she knew of. She had been off world when it had happened, and the automatic signal coming from her home world had warned her and anyone else to stay away. But she had been the only one off world, she was sure of that, no one else to stay away. Then how...

"Krystal, you're growling."

Krystal was shaken back to reality, "Sorry."

Fox reached across the table and put a hand over hers, "What's really bothering you?"
Krystal glanced at the contact, she was glad that Fox was finally becoming comfortable enough to do something like that without asking. The contact also made clear his concern for her. "I know who's hair this has to be, at least I think I do. But I can't be right. I just can't be."

Fox frowned, "Well, there is an easy way to find out who's hair that is."

Krystal looked at him, "How?"

"Take it down to Miyu, she has a lab at Corneria Medical which is still standing. I'm sure she could run a genetic analysis."
Krystal smiled just a bit, "Does the team medical benefits package cover genetic analysis?"

Fox grinned, "It does now."
Krystal felt better immediately. She was reminded for the hundredth time that she wasn't alone anymore. She was surrounded by people who wanted to help her, Fox, the team, Miyu, even Peppy now a general, so many people. "I'm glad. When can we go and see her?"
Fox shrugged, "We can go right now if you like. Over-ground train goes straight there."
Krystal stood up and tucked the phial away in the purse she was carrying. Fox stood up as well and placed several credits in cash on the table before saying, "Shall we?"

Krystal nodded and took his hand, "Let's."

The two left the cafe and headed for the small over ground city train station. To get there they had to pass through one of the bombed out sections of the city. Though the blood and bodies had been cleared weeks ago the sight still made Krystal queasy. In part because of the lingering senses of emotions she got whenever she walked through these sections of the city, it made it difficult to sort out what she was actually aware of. Was she sensing the last thoughts of butchered people? The anger, the loss, the anguish, the fear. Or was she sensing something real? Something that was actually cause for concern in the land of the living. At times like these she was glad to be with Fox, she could latch onto his mind, focus on his strength, the love he felt for her, it made it all bearable. She squeezed his hand a bit tighter. "Thank you Fox."

"Hmmm?" The tod looked at her inquisitively.

"Oh nothing," She said, "Just for being here."

Fox smiled, "Always will be."
They reached the train station, it was elevated a bit above the city itself and the two foxes climbed a set of stairs to reach the platform. Krystal remembered her first experiences with Cornerian metros, they had been...different. On Cerinia there had never been as much crowding for trains, but then warp pads had been more common, and the trains had had inertial dampeners installed, something the Cornerians apparently didn't see a need for. When she had first traveled on one of the trains the lack of inertial dampening had meant she had nearly fallen on her furry tail side, fortunately Fox had been with her and had managed to catch her before that could happen. Since then she had gotten used to it and could now hold onto something with the best of them.

Of course today the train was a lot less crowded, but that fact was no comfort, it was only less crowded because, well, now there were a lot less people in the city. Krystal remembered just how empty the city had felt when she had come back to it after the battle at the Aparoid home world. It had not been a pleasant feeling, a place so full of life suddenly so full of nothing was disconcerting to say the least. She was still trying to get used to it.

The train came to a stop at the terminal and Krystal, along with Fox and about a dozen other Cornerians hurried on. Krystal realized for the first time there were actually enough seats on the train for everyone. She sat down, Fox next to her, and said, "I hate this."

"What?"
"I hate the emptiness."

Fox kissed her on the cheek, "Don't worry, give it a few more months, it'll be back to normal eventually."
"And in the meantime?"

Fox smiled, "Enjoy the fact that we can actually sit down in the train for once."

Krystal huffed, "Sure, go ahead and find the silver lining."

Fox smiled even more, "One of us has to."
The train began moving, it was four stops to Corneria Medical and along the way both she and Fox got several glances from other train riders. Several even took out their phones or tablets and, although they had the courtesy not to snap pictures, nevertheless began furiously typing away at their screens. Krystal had noted that in the absence of an overwhelming amount of good news many newspapers had begun printing stories about her and Fox's finally budding romance. They made her laugh more often than not, especially to see Fox's ears flush so red they rivaled the hair in the phial she had. "Another news story or blog entry about someone seeing us together."

Fox sighed, "Well at least now it's all about the fact that we are together, and at least they have the courtesy not to speculate on bedroom life."
Krystal blushed at that, she had forgotten what tabloids and blogs could be like at times. The last thing she wanted was to be portrayed as, oh what was the Cornerian word? Slutty, that was it. "If they ever do I'll kick the crap out of the editors."

Fox laughed, "I'll help. Here's our stop."
The two got up and moved to the doors, as soon as they opened they hopped out, descended the stairs back to street level, and headed for the building and institution known as Corneria Medical. The building itself was huge, fifty stories tall with a gleaming white exterior, Corneria Medical had been the foremost research hospital in Lylat for over a century. Krystal had once heard a rumor that one could only be given a position there if one tested at near or total genius. The fact that Miyu Lynx, one time fighter pilot and overall brilliant intellectual worked there was no surprise.

Though the institution had primarily been utilized for research, in the wake of the Aparoid invasion that had destroyed a great many of the city clinics it had seen a great deal of its labs hastily converted to emergency services. The whole building radiated pain and worry and Krystal quickly closed her mind to it. Hospitals filled with dying patients had never been a favorite place of hers.

"You all right Krystal?" Asked Fox.

Krystal nodded, "I'm fine. I just don't generally like hospitals."
The two walked through the glass doors leading into the atrium and headed straight for the main desk. Behind it was a chocolate furred female canine with long brown hair wearing a nurses uniform. "Hi."

The nurse looked up and her eyes widened, "Fox McCloud?"
"That's me."
The nurses eyes drifted to Krystal and just as she was about to say something Krystal gasped and said "No no it isn't that!"
The girl's muzzle clamped shut and she returned her attention to Fox, "Mr. McCloud, what can we do for you?"

Fox smiled and answered, "We need to see Dr. Miyu Lynx, resident genius. Is she in?"
The nurse nodded, "Dr. Lynx is in. Shall I page her for you?"
Fox shook his head, "No, just tell me where she is."
The nurse looked at her computer screen and said, "Dr. Lynx is in lab 210 on the fifteenth floor. Go up in the elevator and then once you're out of it go straight down the hall, should be the third door on the right."
Fox smiled again, "Thank you."

Krystal followed him to the elevator, the doors closed and Fox said, "Floor fifteen." When the lift began moving he turned to Krystal and said, "What was that all about down there?"

Krystal blushed, "Something to do with me you and a kit."

Fox's eyes widened, "Oh! Jeez really? We've only been together for what? Six months? People really love to assume."

Krystal nodded, "And we only did the necessary activities for the first time a week ago."

Krystal saw Fox blush through his fur, he said, "Don't let Miyu know."

"Of course not."

The lift doors slid open, and as soon as they reached lab 210, exactly where the nurse had said it would be, Fox put a finger to his muzzle and Krystal made sure to become ever so quiet. Turning the doorknob Fox swung the door open and said loudly, "MIYU!"
"DAAAAHHH!"
Krystal watched a female lynx in a white lab coat and wearing a gold earring jump out of her seat in front of a microscope, fur sticking straight out. Fox was doubled over laughing and Krystal couldn't help but find the situation to be comical as well. The lynx, after getting her fur under control walked over to Fox and promptly stomped on his foot. "OW!"
"What you get."

Krystal rolled her eyes, she had met Miyu before and had quickly realized that the lynx and Fox had a special regard for one another. Almost akin to siblings at times. Krystal wondered if there had ever been anything more between them in the past. Krystal decided to speak up before Fox could say anything, "Sorry Miyu, I should have stopped him."

Miyu noticed Krystal and ran over to her, a medical scanner already in hand and promptly began running the whirring little device around her, "How long?"

Krystal looked confused, "What?"
Miyu looked at her like she was stupid, which compared to Miyu Krystal would say was a fair assessment. "How long have you known?"

Comprehension dawned on Krystal, blushing she said, "It isn't that Miyu!"

Miyu stood up straight, she had bent over to put an ear to Krystal's stomach. She looked at Fox who said, "Yeah it isn't that Miyu."
Miyu put away her medical scanner, "Then why are you disturbing my experiment?"

"Do you always have an experiment going?" Fox asked, looking none too shocked.

Miyu nodded, "When I'm trying to relax."

Krystal could see that Fox was about to reply, however she also knew that meant it would take longer for them to get to the point of why they were there. "Miyu, I have something I need you to do a genetic analysis on."
Miyu raised an eyebrow, "Oh? Let me see."
Krystal pulled the phial out of her purse and offered it to Miyu. The lynx snatched it out of her hand and regarded it thoughtfully, "Never really seen hair in this color. Cornerian reds usually have a lighter red or orange color to them. Like idiot boy over here." She jerked a thumb at Fox who rolled his eyes and smiled. "Where did you get this?"

"A tod handed it to me."

Miyu looked confused, "Why?"
Krystal pursed her lips and then said, "I'm really not certain. That's why I want to know who that hair belongs to."
Miyu sat down on the stool next to her microscope. "Well, I suppose I could help you. When do you need to know by?"
Krystal shrugged, "As soon as you can make the determination. It doesn't have to be a priority one."
Miyu nodded, "All right, I have a few non-recreational things to do today. After that..."
"Non-recreational?"

Fox smiled, "She means not experiments."

"Ah."

Miyu glanced at Fox for a moment and then said, "Well, I'll call you when I have something. Until then I'd like this tod out of my lab so I can work."

Krystal took Fox's arm and said, "I'll keep him away from you Miyu."

It was dark outside of Krystal's hotel room. The team had been staying in a very nice hotel while they waited to get a new mothership. Fox was in bed next to her, the two had separate rooms, though Falco had been making the joke for the past week that it hardly seemed necessary anymore. Well, he had made the joke until Krystal had politely and threateningly told him to stop before poor Fox's ears caught on fire.

The clock next to her bed read midnight. Fox was breathing regularly behind her, asleep no doubt, and after what they had been doing soundly was probably applicable as well. But she couldn't sleep, thoughts about the hair and what it could mean conspired to keep her from relaxing even in the afterglow of coitus. She was just about to close her eyes and try and get some sleep when the phone on her bedside stand buzzed. Picking it up she tapped the "Read Message" icon on the touch screen. It was from Miyu, "Results are in."

Krystal thought for a moment, she should really wait until tomorrow, but the need to know if she was right or not was nagging at her so much she knew she wouldn't be able to sleep with the answer a few metro stops away. So she quietly slipped out of bed, dressed, grabbed her coat, and left the room.

The Corneria City over ground train platform was far less inviting at night. Krystal realized she probably should have brought a blaster with her, or her staff, she was licensed to carry both. The denizens of the platform tonight appeared to be a middle aged tod with a rent-a-date girl hanging off of his arm, a man in a hooded jacket, and one stumbling drunk lupine. Krystal could hear the train coming when the drunk suddenly lurched towards the tracks, no one else seemed to notice, so Krystal quickly ran over and put a hand on his shoulder, "Sir wait...AAAA!"
Krystal felt a sharp pain in her abdomen as something sharp stabbed into her. The drunk, now sober, was running like a bat out of hell, leaving Krystal to fall to the ground, blood dripping from the wound. She looked down at the knife even as she heard the rent-a-date girl scream. It hadn't gone up to the hilt, but it was certainly painful enough. As her vision began to blur she saw the hooded man go chasing after the wolf who had stabbed her, all she could see clearly was the man's tail. For a moment she thought her eyes were playing tricks on her, the tail seemed like it was magenta with a black tip. Could it be? Before she could find out however her vision blacked out entirely as she slipped into unconsciousness.

A/N: I think I'm going to do these at the end now. Well, this is certainly a beginning. For those of you who have read my stories before I would like to say that this is a new beginning for them. There will be plenty of familiar characters, however at times they may seem unfamiliar. There will be more about their pasts, and much of what little I ever said about them is no longer really applicable. In the past stories my characters have been flat and without much detail about their past, rest assured though that this story is aiming to a change a bit of that, while hopefully providing a fun read. Well, I'm done talking, please let me know what you think!